


Imminent Catastrophe

by sashawiremarryme



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: mick is a successful author au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 09:04:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16658176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sashawiremarryme/pseuds/sashawiremarryme
Summary: Mick Mercury is about to receive one of the most prestigious writing awards in Hyperion City. Unfortunately, he is Mick Mercury. Something had to go wrong.





	Imminent Catastrophe

**Author's Note:**

> Written for taleshunter on Tumblr  
> I hope they don't mind I added some Sasha

“Does this suit look cheap?” Mick Mercury fidgeted with the cuffs of his jacket as he paced the room.

“It is a cheap suit, Mercury.” Juno Steel barely looked from the floor.

“I know that Jay,” he started breathing heavily, “but does it look like it?” Juno stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall with his hands in his coat pockets for the past twenty minutes. He walked over to his friend.

“What’s this actually about?” He sighed.

“It’s about how cheap this suit looks,” Mick stuttered over every word, “I just don’t want my amazing speech to be overshadowed by my clothes, you know?” Before Juno could respond, a woman appeared in the doorway.

“You’re on in five minutes, Mr Mercury.”

“Okay, great, I’m ready and I totally know what I’m going to say because I’ve had my speech prepared for days and…” she left the room and closed the door, and Mick turned to Juno, “Jay, I don’t have a speech.” 

“You don’t… how do you not have something? You’ve known about this for three months.” He pressed his face into his hands. He should have known that it was impossible for something to go right in Mick’s life. Usually, the disaster was less public. Usually, it was nearly burning his house down while boiling water, not forgetting to write an acceptance speech for one of the most prestigious writing awards in Hyperion City.

“I know that, it’s just that every time I sat down to write it I would get distracted because I would start thinking about public speaking and how nervous it made me so I would go for a ride to clear my head and by the time I got back I would always forget about it.” He stopped for air and Juno took his chance to say something.

“Mercury, stop it, you’re nearly hyperventilating!” He lowered his voice. “If you didn’t want to do this speech so badly, why did you agree to it?”

“Because I finally did something right and I wanted you to see!” He whispered back.

Before Juno could respond, the door opened again. “Mr Mercury,” the clipboard-wielding woman appeared again, “you’re needed on stage now.” Mick shot Juno a final panicked look as he was ushered through the doorway. The woman followed him out, leaving Juno alone as he considered leaving the event. He didn’t want to come anyone, and now he knew that Mick was just going to embarrass himself like he always did there was no reason to stay. And yet, Juno’s feet didn’t carry him away from the impending disaster, but instead, he found himself in the audience, waiting for Mick to step out.

He glanced around the room. All of the seats had been filled and there was a crowd of people standing in the back. His eyes focused on a woman standing away from everyone else, as though they were afraid to go near her. He walked towards her.

“I didn’t realise bad writing was a serious enough crime for Dark Matters to look into, Sasha.” Sasha Wire lifted up her sunglasses and looked Juno in the eyes.

“Mick’s book actually breaks three intergalactic laws.” Juno had to look away from her unblinking gaze.

“Was that a joke or…”

“Yes Juno,” she put her sunglasses back on, “that was a joke.”

“Oh, okay—”

“At Dark Matters, we like to avert catastrophes before they even happen, if Mick’s book really did break intergalactic laws, he likely would have been dead before it was even published.” She turned to face the stage. “And that wasn’t a joke.”

“So what are you doing here? How is Dark Matters screwing me over today?”

“Aren’t I allowed to see my friends when their lives aren’t in danger?”

A polite applause filled the room as Mick stepped on to the stage, denying Juno a chance to respond. Mick stepped up to the microphone. “Hi,” he looked around, panicked, before his eyes settled on the podium in front of him.

“This is gonna be good,” Juno glanced at Sasha, “he doesn’t have a speech.”

“You should really have more faith in him.” Sasha didn’t take her eyes off of Mick as he picked up a piece of paper from the podium and cleared his throat.

“Thank you, esteemed guests and friends, it is an honour to be awarded the three hundred and forty-ninth Writers of Hyperion Award.”

“Huh, I honestly expected him to get the name of the award wrong.” Juno watched Mick in shock.

“I told you to have more faith in him.”

“I would like to dedicate this award to my closest friends…” His words were uncertain, as though he was reading this speech for the first time.

“I can’t believe he managed to write a speech that fast.” Juno leaned closer to Sasha.

“I agree, from the way you were talking about it I was sure that this was going to be a catastrophe.”

“... Juno, Sasha,” he paused on the podium, and struggled with his next words, “Ben and Annie.”

“I mean, he had less than five minutes, and he managed to get it on the podium before he even stepped out there.” Juno slowly turned towards Sasha.

“You’ve been there for me for longer than I can even remember,” Mick managed a quick glance around the room before his eyes returned to the piece of paper in his hands, “especially Juno, Jay,” Juno’s eyes returned to Mick at the sound of his name. “You’ve saved me more than I care to admit. So thanks, buddy.” He gave an uncomfortable smile.

“It would take someone pretty impressive to manage that in less than five minutes, wouldn’t it?” He turned back to Sasha.

“It would, wouldn’t it?” She turned to face him and gave a rare smile.

Juno couldn’t help himself, he wrapped his arm around Sasha’s shoulders and he felt her leaned against him. Together, they watched their favourite walking disaster get something right for once.

**Author's Note:**

> Three cheers for small and casual displays of physical affection between two friends who almost never see each other!!!  
> :)


End file.
